Avian Shock and Awe
Food which at one time had feathers continues to get bad publicity due to concerns over avian flu and the deadly H5N1 strain of influenza that is spreading across the globe and could potentially mutate to a human-to-human contracted disease. So now might be a good time to bring up a bird food that is no longer eaten -- and it's not because of fears of avian flu.
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The ortolan is a small songbird of the bunting family. It can be found in France, though it is now illegal to capture them. In 1999 they were placed on the protected species list, to the disappointment of hunters and foodies of the strange and unusual. Apparently ortolen used to be a French delicacy, which involved catching the bird, placing it in a dark box so that it could gorge itself and plump itself up to several times its normal size, and then drowned in armagnac before being roasted and served hot.
As if that's not bad enough, the bird is eaten whole, including the bones, with the exception of the head or beak, which is bitten off. All of this is done under the privacy of a napkin placed over the head, which is supposedly done to help retain the full aroma of the bird.